Common Idioms 1

Adding insult to injury

• Calling someone a name after hurting them

• Making a bad situation even worse

• Having a doctor insult you

Back to the drawing board

• Time to learn how to draw

• Going back to a simpler time when we could draw pictures instead of write

• This idea failed, so start all over again

The ball is in your court

• You must really like basketball

• It is up to you to make the next move

• It's time to play tennis

A blessing in disguise

• Someone who dresses up like a minister

• Words of encouragement in another language

• Something that may seem bad at first but works out for good

You can't judge a book by its cover

• You can't judge something or someone on appearance alone

• You can't act like you're smart because you carry big books

• You can't judge someone by comparing them to a book

It costs an arm and a leg

• It is very expensive

• It is very cheap

• It is bloody and messy

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it

• We will do the most obvious thing to do

• We will overcome our fear of high places

• We will deal with the problem when it's absolutely necessary, but not before then

Don't cry over spilled milk

• It's really funny when you make a mess

• Don't make the problem even bigger (adding tears to the milk)

• Don't complain or worry about something in the past you can't change

Don't count your chickens before they hatch

• Don't waste time on basic mathematics

• Don't make plans for something that might not happen

• Don't be a chicken farmer because there's no money in it

Don't put all your eggs in one basket

• Don't pin all your resources or hopes on one possibility

• Don't carry so many things at once or they'll spill

• Don't take on such a heavy load in life